Love Charade
by la periodista
Summary: Paulina finds out Danny's secret, and pretends to like him to get closer to his ghost side. When she threatens to expose him, can he convince her to keep quiet before it's too late? Final chapter added!
1. Chapter 1

**Hello all! Welcome to my second DP fanfic! To those of youthat have been following my first one, Half Crazy, I started the last chapter a couple days ago and hope to have it up by the end of the weekend.**

**At any rate, here is the new story.**

**Disclaimer: Iown neither Danny Phantom nor any of its characters.**

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It was a warm Friday afternoon as Danny Fenton emerged from Casper High. Paulina followed him out, begging him to tell Ghost Boy to come visit her, unaware of Danny's secret. Suddenly, the temperature dropped. Fortunately, Paulina was too busy imploring Danny to notice Skulker, the most-feared bounty hunter in the Ghost Zone.

Danny excused himself and began to make his way to the side of the main building to morph into his ghostly alter-ego, Danny Phantom, Amity Park's resident hero, although most saw him as Public Enemy #1.

"Hey, Paulina, where's your boyfriend?" Dash, the Big Man on Campus, shouted to her in a mocking voice.

Paulina suddenly realized that Danny had vanished. Looking around frantically, she spotted him rounding the corner of the building. Following him, she got there just in time to peek around from behind some bushes, spying on him.

"Going ghost!" Danny shouted his battle cry, changing from his human form to his ghost form in a matter of seconds. His black hair turned gray, his bright blue eyes changed into green, and his red-and-white t-shirt and blue jeans became a black jumpsuit with a white logo.

Paulina watched in awe as the object of her affection flew off in a hurry, in hot pursuit of Skulker. Her heart fluttered, and she sighed longingly as she followed him with her eyes.

Then it hit her. She finally realized why the unpopular young man that had been hopelessly pursuing her, trying to win her love, was so close to Danny Phantom. It's because they're two facets of the same entity. Daniel Fenton, Casper High freshman, the butt of many jokes and victim of regular pranks and bullying, was Danny Phantom, Paulina's hero and love interest.

As she thought about what she'd just witnessed, a plan began to formulate in Paulina's mind. _I can pretend to like him so that he'll become Ghost Boy whenever I want. And if he doesn't give in to my every request, I'll reveal his secret to everyone. He'll have no choice but to give in to me, and I'll finally have Ghost Boy all to myself, and have control over his secret identity as a loser._

A smug smile played into the corners of hermouth as she began to plan out the details. She would put it into action that very evening by inviting Danny to go out with her. She would profess her amorous feelings for him, thus luring him into a false sense of trust. Then, when he least expected it, she would reveal what she'd seen, and he'd be trapped.

_Perfect_, she smirked, making her way home to get ready. _By tonight, Ghost Boy will be mine forever. And Danny Fenton will be wrapped around my little finger._

Around 4:00, Danny phased into his bedroom, returned to his human form, and made his way down to the kitchen for a snack. For once, the battle with Skulker had been relatively simple, and he wasn't feeling as drained as usual. But being a growing fourteen-year-old young man, his appetite wasn't easy to satiate. He poured himself a huge glass of milk and grabbed four cookies, then sat on the couch to watch TV as he ate.

Just as he finished his snack, his cell phone rang. Looking at the caller ID display, he recognized the number as Paulina's. Puzzled, he turned off the TV and answered the call.

"Hello?" he said, his surprise evident in his voice.

"Hey, Danny!" Paulina squealed. "You busy tonight?"

"Well, I sort of have plans with Sam and Tucker-"

"Great!" she cut him off in complete disregard. "Then we can go see a movie together. Pick me up at seven?"

"Uh, sure," Danny agreed, still trying to absorb it all.

"Oh, and dress your best, so I can introduce you to some of my friends. See you later!" Paulina said in a syrupy-sweet voice that made males swoon.

Danny hung up the phone, still trying to make sense of all that had just transpired.

"Hey, Danny, what's up?" Samantha Manson, one of Danny's best friends, answered her cell phone a few minutes later.

"Well, Sam, I have bad news. I'll have to cancel our plans for tonight. I'm really sorry."

"Why?" Sam knew Danny could be flaky, but he had been looking forward to their plans with Tucker Foley, their other best friend, all week.

"Well, you see, my dad has this new ghost-hunting invention, and he insists that the whole family be there with him to test it," Danny lied.

"Sure, whatever you say," Sam said, her suspicions aroused by the tone in Danny's voice. "I understand."

"Good. Then can you let Tucker know for me? I tried him already and he's not answering, and I don't have time to try again. You know how he always wants detailed explanations."

"Yeah, sure," Sam rolled her eyes, thinking about how easily Tucker could lose his patience when it came to any changes regarding the trio's weekly horror-movie marathon at Sam's house. "Call me later?"

"Sure thing. Thanks for understanding. And I'm still on for the protest tomorrow, provided that my parents don't force any more family togetherness on me and Jazz."

"Okay, Danny, have fun," Sam sighed. After the two said their good-byes to each other and hung up, she took a deep breath and mentally prepared herself before dialing Tucker's number.

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**Please review! Feedback is always appreciated! Thank you in advance!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Welcome to chapter two, and thanks for the reviews!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Danny Phantom series.**

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Danny stood before the mirror around 6:30 that night, putting the finishing touches on his look. Even though he was just going to the movies, he didn't want to look too casual. He was dressed in a short-sleeved black polo with a thin white chest stripe, dark wash jeans, and brand-new black leather sneakers, an early birthday gift from his parents. 

Danny combed his thick hair, re-folded his shirt collar, and sprayed on a little cologne. He grabbed a light jacket off his desk chair and left the room, closing the door behind him.

"Jazz, I'm taking off now!" he shouted as he passed his sister's bedroom.

"Okay, Danny, have fun, but be back by 10:30. And I know it's hard for you, but try to stay out of trouble."

"Yeah, whatever you say," Danny sighed. Ever since he got grounded three weeks previous for again coming home after his curfew, Jazz had been playing concerned adult whenever their parents weren't around, and he found it more irksome each subsequent time.

Excited and anxious, Danny took the stairs two at a time. As he left through the front door, he checked his watch. It was 6:45, meaning he had fifteen minutes to get to Paulina's house, and another thirty minutes after that until the movie started. He got his motor scooter out of the garage and put on the helmet. Ensuring that there was an extra one for Paulina to use, he started it and was on his way.

Danny got there five minutes early and was surprised to find Paulina waiting outside for him. He greeted her, and she smiled warmly and ran over to him, returning his greeting with a hug. "I'm so happy to see you, Danny," she proclaimed. "I was so excited about our date that I decided to wait for you outside."

Danny breathed a sigh of relief, thinking back to the one time prior when he had gone to her house to meet up with her, and her dad had given him the third degree. Paulina had actually agreed to go to a dance with Danny. Then again, she had been possessed by a power emanating from a mysterious amulet, so that didn't exactly qualify as anything romantic.

Danny handed the spare helmet to Paulina and helped her get situated on the scooter, sitting down in front of her. He couldn't get over how stunning she looked, despite the simplicity of her outfit-a bubblegum pink camisole, a cropped black shirt jacket, flared jeans, and black boots. His smile grew even wider as she wrapped her arms around his waist, holding onto him for safety.

"Hang on!" he said as he revved up the scooter, and she held him even tighter. For a moment, he forgot how to breathe.

When he finally returned to his senses, Danny steered the scooter away from the curb, and the two were on their way. They reached the theater ten minutes later and made their way to the ticket window. As soon as Danny finished purchasing the tickets, Paulina dragged him over to "meet" four of her friends, although he knew them because they made a point of treating him like dirt at school.

"Danny, you already know Dash, and this is Kwan, Valerie, and Star," Paulina said. She was clinging to Danny's arm, sending shivers up his spine and making him turn slightly crimson. He reached out his other arm to shake the hands of the other four, and, to his astonishment, they actually returned the greeting, as if seeing him for the first time. Normally, this would make Danny extremely suspicious, but he was too busy relishing the moment to worry.

The six made their way into the theater and took up the back left row. As soon as the previews began, Dash and Star decided to make out, and Kwan and Valerie quickly followed suit. Danny led Paulina to two seats a couple rows up, and she rested her head on his shoulder... and her hand on his leg.

"Oh, Danny, isn't this so romantic?" she said in an enchanting whisper, sighing happily. A shoot-'em-up flick wasn't exactly his idea of romance, but he was enjoying the attention entirely too much to give a damn. He took Paulina's hand and used his other hand to stroke her hair, hardly seeming to notice how frequently his fingers became stuck fast because of all the hair products she needed as part of her "natural beauty."

After the movie let out, the other two couples stopped kissing long enough to say good-bye to Danny and Paulina and leave the theater. It was only 9:30, so Danny took Paulina to an ice cream parlor, where they shared a banana split. Even the way she ate her dessert seemed to tease Danny; he could hardly take his eyes off her, and several times he came very close to missing his mouth and feeding his chin a bite of ice cream.

Danny dropped off Paulina promptly at 10:15. He walked her to her front door with every intention of bidding good-bye like a gentleman, but she instead reminded him that he was a hormonally-charged teenager. When he took her hand to kiss it, she pulled him to her, stood on her toes, and pressed her lips to his.

Danny was completely taken aback, but he quickly got into it. The kiss lasted but a few seconds, yet was just long enough for Danny to decide for sure that foregoing his previous plans was worth it. As if he needed any more convincing.

Paulina pulled away and flashed a toothy grin at Danny. "Thanks again for the wonderful night, Danny. See you tomorrow, right? There's a party at Dash's house at 8, and _everyone's_ gonna be there. Everyone that matters, that is."

"Well, you, see, I already have plans for tomorrow."

"What, you don't want to spend time with me?" Paulina said, a look of sadness crossing her face.

"Of course I do. It's just that this thing I was gonna do is something I've been waiting on for months now. But don't worry; I'm sure I can work something out, maybe leave early or put the whole thing off 'till Sunday."

"Is it with Sam and Tucker? Because, you know, you can always invite them to the party. If they're friends of yours, then shouldn't they be friends of mine?"

"Are you sure?" Danny inquired, raising an eyebrow. He didn't know whether to just take her up on the offer, or to instead take her temperature to make sure some serious illness wasn't clouding her judgment.

"Of course I am, silly," Paulina answered, leaning in and giving him another kiss. "I'll call you tomorrow with all the details. Good night, Danny."

"Good night, Paulina," he breathed dreamily, watching her slink into her house. After she closed the door, Danny boarded his scooter, drowning in thoughts of romance as he touched his lips, the warmth of her kiss still lingering. He let himself daydream for another moment before finally starting up the scooter and heading home.

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**Please review! Thanks in advance!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello, and welcome to the third installment! Thank you to all my reviewers for your kind words.**

**A note regarding some concerns expressed in the reviews: If you dislike the whole Danny and Paulina thing, please refer back to the first chapter where Paulina comes up with her scheme. The romance between the two of them is necessary to the story because of that.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom, nor any of its characters.**

**Enjoy!**

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Danny went up to his bedroom, lost in thought, as the smell of Paulina's perfume lingered on his clothing. As he sat on his bed, his cell phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey, man, what's up?"

"Oh, hey, Tuck. Having fun?"

"Trying to, but Sam's on a tirade. Something about you ditching us to go out with Paulina. She's pretty mad."

"Dude, what is her deal? She said it was no biggie if I go out with Paulina. You're cool with it though, right? I mean I understand if you're mad at me for canceling at the last minute."

"Don't worry about it, Danny. We can watch horror movies any old time. But you'd better talk to Sam, though. But first, how was your date?"

"Man, it was wonderful. And she invited me to a party tomorrow, and said I can bring along you and Sam."

"I'm up for it. But what about the protest tomorrow?"

"Uh, yeah, about that. I think I'm going to cut out early tomorrow. I mean isn't the thing supposed to last the whole weekend?"

"Yeah, but you told Sam you were on board for tomorrow. She's not going to be happy with you if you leave early, and, personally, I don't want to be around when you tell her."

"Well, let me think about it so I can figure out how to broach the subject with her. Will you tell her I'll call her in a few minutes?"

"Sure thing, Danny. Later."

"Bye, Tuck."

After taking a few minutes to collect his thoughts, Danny dialed Sam's cell phone number. It barely rang once before she picked it up. "Hey Danny."

"Hey Sam. Tucker said you were pretty mad at me."

"Yeah, well, I guess I just got kind of annoyed because we've been looking forward to this night. I mean, it's like our Friday night tradition. But, hey, I'm cool with it. Life goes on."

"Yeah, well, I have something to tell you. And before you get mad at me, just hear me out, okay?"

"Sure, Danny."

"Well, you see, Paulina sort of invited the three of us to a party tomorrow. And I really want to go, so I was kind of planning to leave the protest by 4 or 5 tomorrow. Either that, or to just wait until Sunday."

Sam felt anger welling up inside of her, but she kept her word to let Danny finish before saying anything.

"So, Sam, would you rather I go on the first day of the protest and leave early, or wait until Sunday and stay all day?"

"Whatever floats your boat, Danny. It's your life," Sam said through clenched teeth.

"Thanks, Sam. I knew you'd understand. Hey, so do you want to go to the party tomorrow? Tuck already told me he's coming."

"Danny, you know how I feel about parties. They are just another way for the 'in' crowd to say, 'Hey, look at me, I'm rich and stupid, and I'm going to destroy my house for the sake of trying to look cool because I'll never get anywhere in life.'"

"Oh, please, Sam, don't start-"

"Don't start what, Danny? The way I see it, you started it. You just had to ditch us and go out with Paulina, just because she suddenly feigns interest in you after treating you poorly for so long."

"Oh, you mean the way you faked being okay with me going out with her instead of watching movies with you and Tuck, the same thing we do every Friday? And how dare you say that she was faking interest? You weren't there. Quit trying to pretend like you know everything, Sam, because you don't. For one thing, you don't know anything about romantic relationships. All you care about is doing anything you can to make a statement and rebel against your parents."

Sam was so shocked and furious that she was rendered momentarily speechless. When she finally returned to her senses, she verbally fired right back at Danny.

"Well, Danny, you seem to think you're so smart. But you're just a jerk. And if this is your idea of supporting a friend, you can forget about coming to the protest, and about our friendship as well. You're so blinded by your hormones right now that you think Paulina actually likes you. But when you wake up and realize it's all a sham, don't bother calling me, because I won't be here. Have a nice life."

Enraged, Sam hung up on Danny and had to restrain herself from throwing the phone across the room. Tucker returned to the room with snacks just in time to see her collapse onto the couch, hot tears stinging her eyes and running down her cheeks.

"What's wrong, Sam?" he asked as the girl cried, her emotions getting the best of her.

"Danny... Danny... Danny and I had a fight, and... we're not... friends... anymore," Sam muttered between sobs.

As Sam continued to cry, Tucker just sat there, trying to comfort her. _If only Danny knew_, he thought. _If only he knew how much she loves him._

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**Please review! A big advanced thank you!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Well, well, well, welcome to chapter four! I really don't have much to say about this installment, except thank you again to all my reviewers. On with the story!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any aspect of Danny Phantom.**

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Danny had mixed feelings about Sam's reaction. Somehow, he just couldn't see what the big fuss was. _She's just jealous that I'm spending time with the person representing the bane of her existence_, he reassured himself. _She'll come to her senses later. Until then, I'll just stay away and let her cool her jets a bit._

Danny's thoughts turned to his date with Paulina and how much fun it had been. Everything about it was incredible. He still didn't understand why she was suddenly acting so amorous towards him. But for that matter, he didn't particularly care-all the attention was already going to his head, obvious in the way he'd shirked his promise to Sam.

His pulse quickened as he recalled the way Paulina ate her dessert. She was very deliberate and kept eye contact with him, delighting in the reaction she was getting from him.

He was playing right into her hands, just the way she planned it.

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Paulina hummed to herself as she got ready for bed, excited about how perfectly everything was working in her favor. Danny had clearly fallen for her already, and just when he thought things couldn't get better, she would pull the rug out from under him by revealing what she knew and threatening to expose him unless he continued their relationship as Ghost Boy exclusively. 

She admired her reflection in the mirror, smiling at what she saw. Getting up from the chair, she walked to her closet to pick out her outfit the next day. She had plans to go shopping with Star the next morning, so they could buy new outfits for the party.

Paulina looked through her closet for a moment before finally settling on a white dress and red sandals. She hung the dress on a hook glued to her bedroom door, then went into the bathroom to finish readying herself for bed. She decided to go online for a few minutes before going to sleep, and, immediately after logging on, received an instant message from Dash.

**bigmanoncampus: **hey whats up w/ u and danny

**uwishuwereme: **nothin we just went 2 the movies and a restaurant why u jealous

**bigmanoncampus: **heck no just wonderin why ur so in2 him all of a sudden

**uwishuwereme: **im not into him i just found out sumthin about him that i shouldnt have, so im gonna use him to get what i want. that losers already in2 me. and if u no whats good for u keep quiet about it bcuz your gonna get sumthin good out of it 2

**bigmanoncampus: **thats my gurl c u 2morrow babe

**uwishuwereme: **yeah whatever im not ur gurl ok. im dannys now remember

**bigmanoncampus: **yeah until u get what we both want from him right

**uwishuwereme: **exactly so just let me handle him dont say a word or u will spoil all my hard work

**bigmanoncampus: **no prob nething to remind evry1 what a loser he is

The two chatted for awhile, and Paulina finally went to bed at 12:30, a broad smile on her face as she thought over her plan.

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Danny awoke the next morning feeling quite refreshed, despite his fight with Sam. Although he did feel slightly guilty for ditching her like that, he tricked himself into believing it was somehow justified because he had tried to make other arrangements; it wasn't his fault that she seemed to have her heart set on eating up all of his much-deserved weekend free time. 

Danny got up and went downstairs to make breakfast. Cooking wasn't his thing, but he wanted to butter up his parents in hopes they'd give him some money to buy new clothes for the party. Of course it would under the pretext that he needed the money for something "important." After all, it was important to him. So what if they didn't know of his real plans to use it? They were his parents; it was practically in their job description to save him from "dire financial straits."

Danny cooked up a huge meal, set the table, and called everyone downstairs to breakfast. As the family chowed down, Danny broached the subject of money with his parents, and, surprisingly, they went for it. After Danny washed all the breakfast dishes, Jack Fenton surrendered a $100 bill to him, and Danny thanked him profusely for his generosity before running up the stairs to his room to get ready to leave.

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Sam awoke with the dawn and tried her best to shake off her leftover emotions from the night before. She took a moment to regroup before eagerly hopping out of bed to get ready for the protest. It was only 6:00 am, so she still had well over an hour to eat breakfast and put the finishing touches on her picket signs. 

Sam dressed quickly, then went downstairs and breakfasted on two slices of whole-wheat toast, organic orange juice, and bran flakes with raisins and soy milk. Feeling energized, she finished getting ready and left promptly at 7:30 to meet up with Tucker on the front steps of the Amity Park City Council building. Arriving at 7:45, she easily found him despite the massive throng already present. Tucker also had various picket signs, and the two stood around chatting as they awaited instructions.

"Hey, Tuck, thanks for coming," Sam said. "At least I know I still have one loyal friend."

"No prob, Sam, but please, can we not talk about Danny? Let's just stick to the task at hand."

"Okay, Tucker. No more talk about Danny, I promise. I don't want to ruin this event for you."

Sam continued to break her promise, as everything seemed to serve as a painful reminder to her of her and Danny's fight less than twelve hours earlier. Tucker had had enough by the time the two finally left the protest around 3:00, much to his relief.

"Now what?" Sam inquired.

"I don't know. How about we just hang out at my house and play some computer games?"

"Works for me."

As the two made their way to Tucker's house, he secretly wished he could trade places with Danny, wherever the halfa was at the time. Sam's love/hate relationship with Danny was really starting to get to him. _I wish she would just tell him how she feels,_ he thought. _Because they've only been fighting for less than I day, and I'm already tired of being stuck in the middle!_

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**Please read and review! Thanks in advance!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Greetings from chapter five! The major turning point in the story has at last arrived. I'm not sure how long this story will be, but I'll put an estimate at eight chapters. At any rate, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom, in whole or in part.**

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Around 7:15 that night, Danny was standing before the mirror, combing his thick black hair and adjusting the collar of his new shirt. He was usually quite self-conscious, but he felt pretty attractive that night, particularly due to knowing he would soon be in the company of the hottest girl at Casper High.

After one last check, Danny at last found his appearance satisfactory and stepped away from the mirror. He went to his nightstand, opened the top drawer, and removed a small, wrapped box tied neatly with a bow. He tucked it securely into his pocket and went downstairs.

Danny said good-bye to his family and went to the garage to get his scooter. Paulina had asked him to arrive at 7:30 so he could meet her parents for real this time. He hoped that the presence of her mom would keep her dad from hassling him.

Although Danny arrived a few minutes early, Paulina had heard his scooter and met him on the front porch. His jaw dropped when he saw her in a black halter dress that hugged every curve of her body to perfection. She smiled at him and kissed his cheek before taking his hand and leading him inside.

"Danny, these are my parents, Francisco and Laura. Mamá, Papá, this is my new boyfriend, Danny Fenton."

Danny shook her parents' hands, and they motioned for him to sit on the couch. He chatted nervously with them for about fifteen minutes, which felt more like fifteen hours. At last, much to his relief, Paulina insisted that it was time to leave. He said good-bye to her parents and was out the door in a matter of seconds.

"Are you okay, Danny? I know my parents can be a bit harsh," Paulina asked him as he helped her get settled on the scooter.

"Oh, don't worry about that. I'm fine. I was just a little nervous is all," Danny reassured her as he secured his helmet.

Paulina held on to Danny's waist, causing him to wear a goofy grin the whole way to Dash's house. They arrived promptly at 8:00, parked the scooter in the garage, and removed their helmets. Danny was about to go inside, when Paulina grabbed his arm to stop him.

"Wait. We can't go in yet."

"Why not? It's 8:00," Danny said, looking at his watch.

"We have to be fashionably late," Paulina explained, resisting the urge to roll her eyes.

"Oh, yeah, of course. I knew that," Danny lied. "But how are we going to kill time while we wait, since we're already here?"

"I know exactly how," the girl answered, a gleam in her eyes.

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After Paulina reapplied her lipstick and Danny made sure she didn't leave any traces of makeup on him, the two finally went into the party at 8:15. 

"Hey, Danny! Paulina!" Dash greeted them. "Glad you could make it!"

Danny was taken aback by the fact that Dash hadn't called him by some twisted form of his last name, but he returned the jock's greeting anyway. Dash gave them a small tour of the downstairs area, showing them where the snacks and the restroom were, as well as a huge coat closet. "In case you two want some privacy," he explained with a wink and a grin.

"That reminds me," Danny whispered to Paulina. "I have a little gift for you. Perhaps we can step outside a little later."

"Ooh, Danny, please don't make me wait for it!" Paulina squealed excitedly, pulling Danny out to the patio.

"Okay, okay," he said, trying to loosen himself from her grip.

When the two found a spot far away from the other partygoers, Danny removed the small gift from his pocket and handed it to Paulina. She immediately unwrapped it to reveal a velvet box. Opening it, she screeched with delight when she saw a sterling silver necklace with a small ruby pendant.

"My birthstone! Oh, it's beautiful!" she exclaimed. "Help me put it on!"

Danny carefully secured the necklace on Paulina, and she proceeded to make her way around the downstairs floor of the house, showing it off to everyone and explaining that her boyfriend bought it for her. The two then spent roughly an hour eating, dancing, and mingling before Paulina excused herself to "freshen up" in the restroom.

When Paulina was sure she was outside of Danny's line of vision, she motioned for Dash, and the two went upstairs to his room.

"So, are you ready to tell him that you know his secret, whatever it is?" Dash asked, closing and locking the door behind them.

"I am so ready, now that I have this necklace. No matter how he reacts, I bet he's too chicken to ask for it back."

"Good. So how are you gonna pull it off?"

"You'll see," Paulina explained as she reached for the doorknob.

"Wait," Dash said, stopping her. He reached out to her chin and turned her face towards his. "Now that you've gotten what you wanted out of him, does that mean you're not dating him anymore?"

"Well, I haven't gotten everything I've wanted yet, but I'm all yours once I do."

"Great, I'm looking forward to it," Dash grinned slyly, leaning in towards Paulina's face. She stood on her tiptoes to close the gap between her and the jock, and their lips met in a kiss.

"There's more where that came from," Paulina breathed after they parted, teasingly swaying her hips and strutting downstairs to find Danny.

"I can hardly wait," Dash muttered, following her with a huge smile on his face.

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**Please review! A big thank you!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Greetings from chapter six! I apologize for the delay in posting this chapter, but there were some technical difficulties. This story is nearing the end and will most likely have eight chapters when it is completed. Thanks again to all my reviewers; I appreciate the feedback.**

**Disclaimer: I do now own any aspect of Danny Phantom.**

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Paulina found Danny near the snacks and asked him if they could talk privately outside. He followed her to a dark corner of the backyard. After checking to make sure no one was within earshot, she flashed him a grin, then kissed him.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Danny murmured dreamily.

"Well, I just wanted to thank you again for the necklace. And to discuss some really juicy gossip. You see, I discovered somebody's secret and I'm not sure if I should tell anyone else. Other than you, of course."

"Well, I guess it depends on the secret. What exactly is it?"

Paulina's grin widened, and she leaned close to Danny and began to whisper in his ear. "Here's the deal. I caught a certain student at Casper High changing into Ghost Boy. I really like Ghost Boy and want to date him, but I don't like him in his human form. And if the human doesn't let me see his ghost side more, I'm going to reveal his secret to everyone. Isn't that great?"

Danny swallowed hard as she snickered. "How... how... how did you know?" he stuttered.

"I caught you the other day, becoming Ghost Boy."

Danny's eyes flashed green, making Paulina only laugh harder. "My plan's already working," she said in between giggles. "Now just keep it up, and I won't have to tell anyone what you've been hiding from the town. After all, you wouldn't want everyone to turn against you, now would you? Even your loser friends probably won't want anything to do with you."

"That's where you're wrong," Danny said through clenched teeth. "Sam and Tucker have known for awhile. Even my sister knows now."

"Well, you may have the three of them, but you won't have anyone else. You could just make this easy on yourself and let me see Ghost Boy whenever I want. And do some little favors for me here and there. That's not too much to ask, now is it?"

Enraged, Danny could feel himself changing, but he caught himself and stopped it. Even though Paulina had successfully blackmailed him, he wasn't about to give her the satisfaction of knowing that.

"Fine, I'll play along for now," he sighed in defeat, as the wheels turned in his mind all the while. If he could just keep her distracted for a few days, he would surely be able to work out a plan to prevent her from exposing him.

"That's a good Danny," she said, patting his head tauntingly.

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When the two got back to Paulina's house, she insisted that Ghost Boy float her up to her room, which Danny had no choice but to do. She clung to his neck as he flew upwards, holding her bridal style, turning them intangible to phase through the wall and setting her on her feet on the floor. 

"That was fun," she sighed, a grin plastered on her face. "We have to do this more often. Don't you agree?"

"Sure, whatever you say," Danny answered, playing along.

"Good night, Ghost Boy. See you tomorrow for our date. And tell your loser side that I want him to pick me up at noon, unless he wants to risk revealing himself by coming here as a ghost," she snickered.

"Yeah, of course. Good night."

It was nearly midnight when Danny finally left Paulina's house. On his way home, he decided to stop by Sam's place, hoping that both she and Tucker were there, and that she would talk to him.

Upon arriving, he called her cell phone.

"Hello?" she answered grouchily, as he was just about the last person on Earth she wanted to talk to at the moment.

"Hi, Sam. I know it's late, but I really need to talk to you and Tucker. It's an emergency."

"What, did Paulina dump you or something?"

"If only it were that easy, but it's not. She knows, Sam."

"Knows what?" the young woman asked. And then it hit her. "Okay, Danny, come on in and meet Tucker and me down in the entertainment room."

Danny went ghost and phased into the house, flying down to meet up with his friends.

"What happened, Danny?" Tucker asked after he returned to his human form.

"Paulina has a major crush on 'Ghost Boy.' As it turns out, she saw me morph the other day and has been faking interest in me to get closer to my ghost side."

"How did you find out that she knows?" Sam questioned.

"She had the audacity to tell me to my face at the party tonight. She took me far away from everyone else so they wouldn't hear, but she threatened to expose me if I don't let her see more of my ghost side. And I have to do favors for her as well."

Sam could feel anger overcoming her. She always knew that Paulina was cruel and shallow, but this was really low, even for her. "You can't let her blackmail you, Danny!" Sam insisted.

"I know, that's why I came to you guys. But first, I want to talk to you in private, Sam. Do you mind, Tuck?"

"Not at all," the other young man responded, excusing himself to get more snacks.

Once he was gone, Danny sat on the couch next to Sam. "Look, I'm really sorry for the way I've been acting lately. Even if Paulina's interest was genuine, I never should have allowed myself to get so tied up in a relationship, especially if it meant being so rude to you and Tuck. I promise, from now on, I'm going to be more considerate."

"It's okay, Danny, really. I forgive you. Regardless of the way you've been acting, you don't deserve to be burdened any further. What Paulina did is punishment enough."

"Thanks, Sam," Danny whispered, looking at her gratefully before leaning in and kissing her cheek.

Tucker came downstairs at that moment and saw Danny's action. _It's about time, he thought._ "Hey, guys, are you done talking?"

"Oh, yeah," Sam said, both she and Danny blushing. "And I'm glad you're back, because I have a plan."

Tucker set down the food on the coffee table and pulled up a chair near the other two.

"Now listen closely," Sam instructed, the other two leaning towards her. "Here's what we'll do."

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**Thank you in advancefor reviewing!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello, and welcome to chapter seven! This is the next to the last installment of the story. I'm not exactly sure how I'm going to end the story yet, but I'll think about it for awhile and follow up on some of the ideas I have so far. Thank you again to all my reviewers.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any aspect of Danny Phantom.**

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That Monday, Danny showed up at Paulina's house in his ghost form to fly her to school. She clung tightly to him, looking into his intense green eyes with a complacent look; she was finally getting all that she wanted. Or so she thought. 

Danny set her down behind a tree, and she pulled him in to kiss him. Just as she neared him, he burped in her face.

"Excuse me," he said. "Guess it was the orange juice."

"Yeah, whatever," she muttered, making a sour face at him.

Playing along, Danny frowned at her, but inside, he was laughing as he made mental notes of his success. _Phase One starting on a high note._

Danny went human, and Paulina took his hand and dragged him into the school, angry over Ghost Boy's rude behavior. After she said good-bye to him, he quickly met up with Sam and Tucker.

"How's it going so far?" Tucker asked.

"Great. You should have seen the look on her face."

The three walked to homeroom together, talking and laughing the whole way. Danny would continue Phase One throughout the day, and enact Phase Two at lunch time. They exchanged smiles as they went to their seats, looking forward to seeing how the end to Paulina's obsession with Danny Phantom would unfold.

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Later that day... 

As Danny lunched with Paulina and the popular crowd, Tucker and Sam helped him enact the next part of the plan. They knew a certain annoying, but generally harmless ghost would be interrupting lunch break again, just like he did every day. They looked at the clock and began the countdown. "Three... two... one..."

"I am the Box Ghost! Fear me and my cube-shaped abode!" the spirit shouted, bursting out of a box that once held cups of tapioca pudding.

Danny turned around to see the ghost. Excusing himself and jumping up, he dashed out of the cafeteria, and Paulina followed him. He changed in the now-empty hallway, just as Paulina burst through the cafeteria's double doors.

"Hi, Ghost Boy!" she cheered excitedly.

"Hey, hold on, I'm busy. Be back for you in a moment," he answered, winking at her.

Danny went into the cafeteria to find the students screaming and cowering behind tables and chairs. He made quick work of the Box Ghost before returning to the hallway to Paulina as the students went back to eating.

"Oh, you're back!" she squealed.

"Told you I'd be." Danny floated in front of her as she stared at him in awe, having completely forgotten about his behavior in the morning.

She went in to kiss him, but he turned his head, so she ended up kissing his cheek. "What was that for?" she asked, frowning.

"Later babe. Ghost Boy has no time for this right now. He's too busy trying to hook another foxy lady."

Paulina just stared at Danny, wide-eyed and opened-mouth, as if he'd just grown an extra head. "What are you talking about? I thought you liked me," she pouted.

"I do, babe. But there's plenty of Ghost Boy to go around. You know, that Star really has a lot going for her. Maybe you can introduce me to her?"

"You... you want to go out with her? She'll never be nearly as cute or as popular as me," Paulina insisted, stamping her foot.

"Hey, I heard that!" Star exclaimed, having just walked into the hallway to go to the restroom. "You're, like, so not my friend anymore."

"Oh, yeah? Well, you, like, so wish you could be me," Paulina retorted. Star just ignored her and continued down the hall.

"See what you did?" Paulina said to Danny. "You made me lose my satellite."

"Hey, babe, it ain't my problem."

"Fine, jerk. You know, you may think you're hot stuff, but you're a loser, just like your human side," Paulina proclaimed, too stupid to realize she had been tricked. "Forget you, Ghost Boy. You and Danny can go back to hanging around with that Goth girl and that techno-geek. I am sooooo over you." With that, she turned around and walked away.

Danny turned human and pushed the cafeteria doors open just enough to motion for Sam and Tucker. Joining him, the two quickly noticed the grin on his face.

"How did it go?" Sam inquired.

"Your plan worked like a charm. She told me she was over me and walked off. Now I can officially wash my hands of the whole matter."

The bell rang at that moment, so the three had to split up, agreeing to meet after school. As Danny went to his next class, the smile never left his face. There was just one thing left to do-convince a certain girl to go out with him as more than a friend. He knew it may not be easy, but he felt that if he could get Paulina to stop obsessing over his ghost side, he could do anything.

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**Please review! A big thanks in advance!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Okay, so this is it. A huge thank you to all my faithful readers and reviewers. I really appreciate it. I hope you have enjoyed the story, because I enjoyed writing it, minus the writer's block and technical difficulties, of course. :) Thank you so much for seeing this story through to the end.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Danny Phantom.**

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That evening, Danny, Sam, and Tucker went out to dinner to celebrate the success of Sam's plan. They talked and laughed throughout the meal, as if Paulina's pretend attraction to Danny had never come between the three friends.

After dinner, the three parted ways. Danny went home and put his plan into action, one that he hoped would convince his crush to like him back, completely unaware that she already did (after all, he wasn't known as "The Clueless One" for no reason!).

Danny took a shower and changed into a black, long-sleeved shirt, jeans, and black sneakers. He combed his unruly hair, running gel through it and spiking it up. Finally, he sprayed on a little cologne, in a scent that made him feel confident.

Saying good-bye to his parents and sister, he ducked around a corner outside the house to turn ghost and flew a few miles to a huge house. He floated outside a second-story window, nervous as ever. Knowing that the room was occupied because of the music blaring from it, he rapped on the window.

Sam used to be startled by Danny appearing at her window, but now she recognized his tell-tale knock. Turning down the volume on her CD player, she opened the window. Danny could have just as easily phased through, but the room was starting to feel a little stuffy to her, owing to her excitement at seeing him.

"Hey, Sam," he greeted her as he returned to human form. "I hope this isn't a bad time."

"Not at all, Danny. What's up?"

"I just wanted to thank you for helping save me from that witch Paulina."

"You thanked me plenty earlier, when you paid for my dinner."

"Yeah, I still can't believe you let me do that," Danny said with a grin, referring to Sam's tendency to be a modern woman.

"Yeah, well, it was a special occasion. But don't get used to it," Sam responded, perhaps betraying herself a little as she pictured dating Danny and paying her own way. But, as usual, the little slip-up went right over The Clueless One's head.

"So, anyway..." Danny's voice trailed off as he nervously rubbed the back of his neck. Oh, how she loved when he did that...

"So, you want to listen to some music or something? I ordered a CD online and just got it in the mail this evening," Sam spoke up at last.

"Yeah, sure. But first, I want to tell you something."

Danny wondered if he could go through with this. But when he looked into Sam's eyes, he knew that holding it in any longer would only make him lose his mind. "I love you, Sam. I've been so stupid not to see it before, but looking at you right now, I know it's true."

Sam just stood there in shock, leading Danny to believe that he'd just made a huge mistake. He looked away from her, clearly upset.

"Danny," she said, moving towards him. Reaching out, she took his chin in her hand and turned his face back towards her. "I love you, too."

And with that, they really kissed for the first time. Not a friendly peck on the cheek, or a fake-out make-out, but a kiss between two people who now knew for sure that they were very much in love with each other.

Suddenly remembering something, Danny produced a single red rose from his back pocket. Instead of handing it to Sam, he held it to her nose to let her smell it before gently brushing it over her face, its soft petals tickling her skin. He finally gave it to her, and she put it in a small vase filled with water before attacking him.

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A short while later, Danny flew home, still flushed and warm from a very heated make-out session with Sam. As he neared Paulina's house, he saw her and Dash on her porch. He could tell even from his altitude that they had their tongues shoved down each other's throats. 

Suddenly Paulina broke the kiss, as if sensing Danny. She pointed up at the sky, shouting and making a scene. "Hey, it's that loser, Danny Fenton!"

"What the heck are you talking about?" Dash shouted back, puzzled. "That's just Inviso-Bill."

"But Dash, I'm telling you, Fenton is the Ghost Boy. That's his big secret."

Dash just rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Did you really have to interrupt me for that?" he whined, clearly skeptical. After all, Paulina wasn't known for her intelligence- or for speaking kindly of her exes, for that matter.

Danny chuckled as Dash pulled Paulina to him, to play another round of tonsil hockey. As he went the rest of the way home, he felt relieved that he'd finally realized what was in front of his face all along- Paulina was cruel, and she and Dash deserved each other. But, more importantly, his best female friend meant more to him than any other girl ever had. Suddenly it all made sense- why she got mad at him for ditching her and Tucker to hang out with Paulina, and why he hated feeling her resulting hurt.

But now that he knew, he wanted to make it up to Sam. Turning around and going back to her house, he insisted they go for a walk. It was getting late, but the next day was a school holiday, so Sam went along with it. They strolled to the park hand-in-hand and plunked themselves down on a bench to talk. Well, sort of.

"I'm really sorry, Sam," Danny said, still catching his breath from their kissing.

"What for, Danny? You know you're forgiven for your behavior recently. After all, it wasn't completely your fault."

"No, I'm sorry for taking so long to realize what an idiot I was. I still can't believe I had such a crush on Paulina."

"Danny, you're not an idiot. You just needed a little wake-up call, is all. Besides, even if you were an idiot, you're my idiot now, and I'll deal with it accordingly," Sam teased, gazing into his deep blue eyes.

Sam giggled as she watched Danny's eyes flash green, his way of betraying extreme emotion. He pulled her to him and pressed his lips to hers, thankful that the charade was over. It had taken awhile for him to figure things out, but he had gotten rid of the girl that had only wanted his ghost half, and gotten with the girl that had loved him as he was all along. And at that moment, as they kissed beneath the setting sun, both knew they wouldn't trade the other for anyone else in the world.

THE END

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**A huge thank you in advance for being so kind as to review the last chapter for me!**


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